Late Caledonide Extension in western Norway: A response to extreme crustal thickening

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Abstract
Imbrication of the north‐west margin of the Baltic Shield during the mid‐Silurian continental collision caused continental “subduction” as recorded by the eclogites of the Western Gneiss Region of western Norway (Griffin et al., 1986). During early Devonian times bouyancy forces resulting from the extreme crustal thickening initiated a period of extension which led to the development of a major westerly dipping extensional fault affecting the whole thickness of the imbricated margin. As the footwall of this fault was uplifted the erosional products were deposited on the hanging wall to form a series of basins containing thick sequences of coarse clastic continental sediments. Similarities between this extensional regime and that of the Basin and Range province of the western United States are discussed.